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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

One of my facebook friends just posted a buzzfeed article about four regular women photoshopped into cover models. You can review the results here.But I want to focus on the thoughts of a couple of the woman after they viewed the final result. One says,"This is how I always wanted to see myself. But now that I see it, I'm questioning why I ever wanted to look like that."Another says,"Once you take away your imperfections, there's not much left of who you really are."This is why your characters need faults. They need to be relateable. Don't make them perfect. Give them physical and emotional scars. Things to work through. Things that embarrass them. Then have them work through it and gain strength. Show the reader who your characters really are and they'll love them for it :)Have a great week!

Friday, February 14, 2014

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day! I'm excited to share the love for my friend Chantele Sedgwick. The sequel to her first book, Not Your Average Fairy Tale, is coming out on March 3rd!Without further ado, I present Not Your Average Happy Ending.

When Ash Summerland left the Academy of Magical Beings, he was sure he’d put his troubles behind him. But when his girlfriend, Kendall, is almost killed by an old enemy over something he knows little about, Ash is forced to confront the demons of his past if he wants to save his and Kendall’s future.

With his fairy magic fading and his djinn magic more powerful than ever, Ash isn’t sure he can stop the evil from closing in around him. Although Kendall is the only thing keeping him from going over the edge, if he can’t learn to balance out his magic and find a way to defeat his enemies once and for all, both his world, and the girl he loves will be lost foreverExcited? Me too! Congratulations Chantele! Be sure to visit her blog and spread the love.Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

I haven't done a writing post in a while. Which is sad considering this started as a writing blog. I've been so wrapped up in book prep, but I love getting back to basics.Writer's are all different. Obviously. We each have our own voice, descriptions, style, everything. One thing that has stood out to me lately is the way we write our first drafts. Let's start with what I'll refer to as Type 1 writers. These awesome intellectuals pour over pages, giving every detail, expressing every emotion, adding every single word they can possibly think of. And then there are people like me, Type 2 writers. These superb beings get to the point. They don't add fluff, don't add detail, and oftentimes don't add enough. During revisions, Type 1 will probably spend the majority of their time cutting back, trimming those words, taking their manuscript from 100,000 words to 75,000. On the other hand, Type 2 will spend hours filling in information, adding emotion, fleshing out those flat characters, doing all they can to take their manuscript from 50,000 words to 75,000. Is either one of them better? No way. Sure, there are people in the middle who get their first draft near perfect (Type 1-2 awesomeness). That's something to admire. But I don't think it means those people are any better than the others. They might spend months planning their book just to get it right. And that works for them.No matter which type of writer you are, the most important thing you can do for your book is find a critique partner. I'm a Type 2 writer. And if it weren't for my Type 1 CP's, my books would be flat, boring, and super short. Constructive criticism can be hard to take, but it can make or break your book. So, which type of writer are you? Do you have CP's that are the opposite?

Michelle Merrill

I'm a wife to the best husband and a mother to the cutest kids. I absolutely love to watch old movies, eat anything sweet, and play my music way too loud. My newest novel SUMMONED (Granted #2) is now available on Amazon. Don't miss my other books: GRANTED, CHANGING FATE, and short story TRAPPED (Granted Prequel).

TRAPPED

Click to find on Amazon

GRANTED

Click to find on Amazon

SUMMONED

Click to find on Amazon

Changing Fate

Click image to find on Amazon!

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What do I write?

I love anything and everything about YA fiction. But wait! I'm also getting into more MG. So, between the two, that's what I write, read, write, and read some more. I write mostly urban fantasy, fantasy, contemporary, contemporary fantasy...you can see where this is going. One of my favorite things is to lose track of time while I write. If I'm caught up in the story, hopefully my reader's will be too!